The Asian Development Bank  and SAFCO Venture Holdings Limited have signed $86.2 million package to finance the construction and operation of a sustainable aviation fuel  facility in Sheikhupura.    The financing includes $41.2 million from ADB’s ordinary capital resources  and, $45 million in syndicated loans including B-loans from the Emerging Africa & Asia Infrastructure Fund— an emerging market infrastructure debt fund owned by PIDG and managed by NinetyOne and ILX— an Amsterdam-based emerging market asset manager focused on SDG and climate private debt strategies.       The International Finance Corporation is also providing a syndicated parallel loan. ADB serves as the lender of record for the B-loans and as the mandated lead arranger and book runner for the financing package.     ADB’s financing represents a significant advance towards a sustainable future for the global aviation sector, promoting cutting-edge technology, job creation, and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. This landmark initiative brings together Axens, Rothschild & Co with SAFCO for the first time in the country’s history,” said SAFCO Chief Executive Officer Ali Shaikh.     The 200-kilotons per annum SAF facility in Sheikhupura will use waste-based feedstock including used cooking oil.      Shell Eastern Trading (Pte) Ltd has signed a long-term off-take agreement with SAFCO for volumes of up to 145,000 tons a year of SAF from the SAF facility in Pakistan, once the proposed plant is complete.     Aviation accounts for approximately 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and waste-based bio-SAF, a liquid fuel currently used in commercial aviation, reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 85 per cent.     The facility will have the capacity to produce 145,000 tons of SAF and 18,000 tons of bionaphtha annually, contributing to a yearly reduction of up to 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. (ICE ISLAMABAD)

Fonte notizia: business recorder